Driving on the continent!

[NopeNopetyNope]

Hello, I'm looking for any tips or advice/guidance from people who've driven through France and Spain. Or any words of reassurance!

OH has just surprised us all with a camping trip in Spain. He has booked the time off work, sorted car and health insurance and come home today with a brand new tent and a load of other camping gear. He's also told the children who are beside themselves with excitement!! I know that lots of people would just pop in the car and go for it and I don't want my children to miss out on an adventure because of me but I suffer terribly with anxiety! Realistically it will be me doing the driving as OH won't be able to do much due to health reasons.

I don't even speak the languages, what about road signs?! Maybe if we were driving in Germany I'd mange to read the road signs but I don't even have a base knowledge of French or Spanish. Road signage is really worrying me. I'm also worried about not knowing which types of roads I'll be driving on (eg highways or narrow country lanes), refuelling (not sure what worries me about this but it does), overnight stops or rest stops, interacting with people! I have social anxiety and struggle interacting with people who speak the same languages as me, I will need to use my phone translator but what if people get impatient with me or think I'm ignorant for not knowing the language? Oh and the ferry, I've never driven onto one before and have no idea how it works.

I wish I was carefree and just went with the flow, enjoyed the adventure of exploring new places and I want my children to experience that without me ruining it so please, any guidance or reassurance (as much reassurance as you can muster) will be so much appreciated!

And thank you of you read all of that, apologies if I've rambled.

Go to Halfords and buy a European driving kit- they sell them for £20-£30. They include an emergency triangle, jackets, spare bulbs, beam deflectors and so on. Keep them in the cabin of your car, you are (or were the last time I drove in France) expected to keep them within reaching distance.

The tolls are very easy to drive on but expensive. When I drove to Bordeaux about 8 years ago, it cost me around €130 each way in tolls. I would still do it, because it’s MUCH faster and much easier than driving on a-roads.

if you’re going to Spain, then book a ferry from Plymouth to Bilbao- you can bypass France entirely. If the road trip is part of the adventure and you really want to drive through France, go to Caen- it’s about 4 hours south of Calais and it means you’re skipping about half of France.

The ferry is dead simple. Drive up, check in, show your passports and just go wherever the people tell you to drive. I never drove in Spain, but I’ve also driven in Belgium and Holland a great deal and it’s all very simple.

The trick for me (when not driving on motorways) is to remember that your passenger should be in the middle of the road, not you. It’s really not as hard as you think. Left turns are crossing lanes instead of right turns not. It’s really no trouble, and once you’ve done it for a few hours it’ll be second nature.

Make sure you talk to your husband about, in future, discussing big purchases and holidays together in advance of booking, it's a bit odd that he didn't. He should not have announced it to the kids before running it by you, and he should be helping you plan routes etc now to make it happen.

Camping wise, check everything fits in your car and look into second hand car boxes if not, consider a practise camping weekend nearby in the UK to test run your kit or in your garden if u have one

I do not like driving abroad….last time I did it was 2010 ….I’m 59 now and will never do it again….we used to go to the vendee every year…..so the drive was from st malo to st Jean de monts…..about 3 hours and used to give me awful anxiety from the minute I boarded the ferry…..once we were at our destination I was fine driving local for the 10 days we stayed…..but then I had the same anxiety driving back to st malo….. no way could I have driven to Spain…you are braver than me OP

There is also a ferry from Portsmouth to either Bilbao or Santander (both northern Spain), if Plymouth is too far. It takes 24 hours, so it's not a great deal faster than driving, but it should be more relaxing. https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferries-spain/portsmouth-santander/about

I'm Currently in France at the moment and am driving and was pleasantly surprised at how quiet the roads are and what good quality they are ( not a pothole in sight!). Once you get used to driving on the right side instead of left it's fine driving in France. Never driven in Spain so can't answer x

Oh another thing I forgot.

Make sure your car is in good shape beforehand. You are probably going to do the best part of 1800 miles, much of it at high speed and high temperatures in the south of Europe.

That means your coolant, oil has to be good. Tyres you need good ones, it doesn't rain often in the south in summer but when it does it throws it down. And obviously if you are traveling at high speeds for long periods it is a good idea to make sure your brakes are in good shape.

I would probably get my car serviced before the trip.

Driving in France is fairly straightforward. However, France is much bigger than the UK and I wouldn't advise one person trying to drive all the way down to Spain without a couple of overnight stops at least. Also watch out for travelling at weekends in August. They are incredibly busy, especially Saturdays. Many routes will have queues on the motorways and motorway services will be packed.

"Yes I'm upset with OH for booking without talking to me but then he got upset and said I was ungrateful and asked me not to ruin it for the children which I don't want to do."

What a prick he is!

I hope all the driving advice you've already received has reassured you, and that you have a lovely holiday.

When you get home, LTB!

Where in Spain? We did Plymouth to Roscoff earlier this year, and driving through Brittany is a gentle intro to driving in France.
Then we drive down the coast, and crossed to Spain. And eventually came back Santander to Plymouth. Was a great route.
But basically if you arrive in Roscoff, Caen or Cherbourg you'll have a nice easing in to driving in France

Road signs are international. They are the same everywhere.

Spain is fine. We do a European road trip every year - we did Spain last year from Dieppe.

Road signs are straightforward. Just be aware of the speed limits - there are a lot of speed cameras in France.

We use Premiere Classe for overnight stays. Cheap and cheerfull.

French tolls are straightforward.

It can take a long time to get to Spain.
How long is your holiday?
Where are you roughly planning on going to go?

The other thing that's worrying me is that he hasn't booked the ferry or planned any routes and he's leaving that to me because he'll be working till we leave. I don't know anything about ports and European travel. Or where to book motels as I don't know where we'll be in advance. I probably sound like such an idiot but I've never planned a long journey before and it's been sprung on me with very little time to plan!

Perhaps you could say where you are going from and to and then some of the wise, well travelled people on here could help you plan your journey? I think that would take out a lot of the anxiety for you.

One point be wary of the Spanish at roundabouts they don't have the same roundabout rules as in the UK and they never indicate.

Speeds are in kms not miles.
In France in rain you have to reduce the maximum speed by 20mph per hour on motorways and 10pms per hour on other roads. So if max speed is 130 kph it drops to 110 kph.
Look at the “vehicles from right have priority “ sign online. Can be scary when a car shoots out from the right. Not as many as there used to be, thank goodness.
Before pulling out of petrol stations, side roads etc remember to think right so you go onto the right side of the road.

edit. French law. You must have hi vis jackets in the vehicle, not in a trailer or in the boot. You must put them on before exiting the vehicle if you break down. You need spare bulbs and triangles.
You must also carry passports, proof of ownership of the car, MOT if needed, insurance documents with you.
Where you see a speed camera sign there is a camera very close.

Enjoy the journey. Get off the toll roads and enjoy the towns and villages.

First OP you will be ok. I have done it a few times and it is a long way! I used to work for a company that did coach holidays to campsites in Spain. Whereabouts in Spain are you going and for how long?

I agree with others. Maybe try and stop in France instead as it is a long way to Spain.

In addition you will be unlikely to be able to get the ferry to Spain as they book up quickly.

It all seems a-bit last minute to me. Can't you camp in the UK or France and then think about Spain next year?

This was a very inconsiderate thing for him to do. It's going to take a lot of hours of driving to get to Spain and will cost a lot in fuel and tolls and overnight stops. It will be hot and uncomfortable/boring for the kids. What possessed him to think it was a good idea. Maybe it would be if you had 3 weeks and two drivers.

I'd be minded to book flights and a hire car from the nearest airport to the camp site. This is not going to be a good holiday for you unfortunately if you're bearing the brunt of the driving and anxious about it. Although French motorways are good, it still takes a lot of getting used to driving on the other side and you will need to concentrate more than on your usual routes, especially if your language skills are zero. I would be furious and would have no truck with the guilt tripping.

Where in Spain and when? Brittany Ferries to Spain would cut out a lot of the drive but they may well be fully booked for this August. Or at least no cabins available, and one or two nights in a reclining chair in one of the lounges is not my idea of a relaxing crossing. There is probably more availability and flexibility Dover to Calais but it’s a long drive - probably 12 hours (not accounting for stops) to the Pyrenees (French/Spanish border) so you would probably want an overnight stop. Either way, I’d get the ferry sorted asap.

In terms of the roads, French roads are fine. Signs are pretty much the same as UK, just remember that motorways begin with an A (for autoroute/autopista), so for example it’s the A26 motorway that goes south from Calais. Lots of good tips on this thread already, I’d add at the toll booths (péages or gare de péage) do not go in the lane that is only marked with a t as that is only for cars with toll tags, choose one with the card and/or coin symbol above it. Haven’t done as much driving in Spain although the motorway from Santander to San Sebastián is stunning. I’d say a good sat nav is a must and then you need to focus less on signs, we now just use google maps in our phones.

Oh and I think I’d be having a few choice words with my DH if he tried to surprise me with something like this with no thought of how we’ll get there…

As several other have already suggested, I would look at sailing to Spain. It reduces your driving considerably and it is a lot easier to entertain young children on the boat than in the car. It's expensive but when you subtract what the extra fuel and an overnight stay in France would cost it isn't that bad. Unfortunately you may find it hard to book now as I booked several weeks ago and some sailings were already full and those that weren't had limited accommodation options. But I'd have a look and if there's a sailing available even one way I'd opt for that.
As well as the extras you need in the car that have already been mentioned, if you wear glasses or contact lenses don't forget spares. It's a legal requirement if you're driving in Spain but besides that, if you lost or broke them trying to get replacements abroad when you are the only driver could be a bit of a nightmare!

Oh, I'll be driving in Switzerland in a week or two - for the first time ever! Any tips? Driving from Zurich airport to Adelboden and then around that region. Am a bit nervous too. It'll be a hire car.

I had a very similar thread on here a few years ago when I had a last minute wobble about going on the ferry to France and then driving. It was so helpful and since then I've done a number of other trips, including driving to Barcelona from Bilbao and driving around the centre of Paris. However, these were all things I chose to do and I would be livid if someone foisted this on me.

The driving is great in both countries, as others have said. I always get my dc to work out the speed limits in miles from km as and when they change. Driving onto the ferries is simple. I get anxious when people in hi viz jackets are pointing and gesturing, but realistically you can't go wrong as there is always someone directing you and usually very little maneuvering other than going straight ahead, if that worries you.

The worst place I've ever driven is Zeebrugge as there seemed to be a million lanes, some of which were tracks, loads of overhead wires and weird signs I'd never seen before and, worst of all, no one to follow! It was fine though.

Petrol stations worried me too but it's exactly the same as here and you would have time to look up the number of the pump if needed. In Spain on the major roads some were all manned by very assertive but efficient people and that took me aback as I hadn't been expecting it, but it was fine. There was also a hideous petrol station I had to use in Barcelona that was tiny and had cars coming in both ways which stressed me. But again, it was fine. I include those examples to show that sometimes slightly unanticipated things do happen but you will cope!

Make sure you get an automatic and a sat nav if you are only used to driving a UK car.

Also make sure you have all the proper insurance as the chances you might make a mistake when driving on the opposite side are higher and you don't want to be wanting in that area if you do end up having an accident.

Driving through France is easy. I did it for the first time from Cherbourg down to the Dordogne. I did it with a toddler and a baby, a soon to be XH and, apart from XH suggesting I look at the speedo, it was all good.

(We had a roof box that said to do no more than 50mph, I was doing almost 90mph because I was hoping XH would fly out of the car along with said roof box!)

If your DH doesn't drive, suggest he does the filling up at fuel stations just to give your brain a break and to split the responsibilities. He can also take ownership of navigation

Brittany Ferries are your friend here, they sail from Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander or Bilbao. Book a cabin, essential for a night crossing and a super convenient family base if your crossing is daytime. They are lovely ships, your holiday will start when you get on board. You will all have a wonderful time!

That's all your worries halved!

Have a look at the Via Michelin website for all sorts of useful information, what kit you need for driving in Spain, distances, suggestions of routes, good places to stop etc etc.

Put your husband in charge of navigation, then if anything goes wrong, just blame the navigator!

Sorry---- you're driving to Spain, and people are saying plan to stop once?!?! You'll need to stop overnight at least three times.
Where in Spain are you going?
This journey is thousands of miles. There is no way on God's earth i would drive to Spain.
I've driven extensively in France. Alone with two kids. It's easy and stress free, but the distance you're contemplating if he won't share the driving is utter madness .